Pamela Y. Price, Attorney at Law

Author: pypriceesq
(Page 1 of 5)

I have learned in my life that “it is always darkest just before the dawn.” Last week was so dark. I sat watching “with fear and trepidation” as the Republicans threatened to end healthcare for 16 million Americans. Even as I supported efforts to stop them, I felt like the freight train was running out of control.

A New Dawn in America

Then, Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono stepped up to speak on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Every time I watch her speech, I am moved to tears. Her courage in sharing her story, including her fears, her family’s struggles, her unique path to the U.S. Senate, all of it. The shining sincerity of her compassion is so beautifully overwhelming, born of her uniquely American experience. Raised as a poor Japanese immigrant, she has never forgotten where she came from.

Her call for compassion, I believe, is what sealed the deal. As we all know, Senator John McCain‘s “no” was the deciding vote, following the tie-making opposition of Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Why is compassion so compelling? Compassion is not simply a human emotion. There is evidence that animals are also quite capable of giving and receiving compassion. We also know that compassion in animals is not limited to animals of their same species. A dog can show kindness to a cat. A mother hen can adopt a lost baby duck. A lion can hug a man who loved him without harming him. It seems that in the natural world, compassion has no bounds.

It seems that we are all capable of giving and receiving compassion. The response to Sen. Hirono’s empassioned plea to vote against repeal of Obamacare suggests that we are all vulnerable to the message of compassion. Sen. Hirono noted that when she was diagnosed with cancer, even Republican senators expressed their concern for her. They showed her kindness and compassion. Sen. Hirono called upon the Republican senators to show Americans the same compassion they had shown her. And it worked.

The Courageous Women Who Defied Trump

We should not overlook the significance of the courage displayed by two other female Senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. No. 45 actually threatened the residents of both of their states to retaliate against the Senators. Whereas some Republican senators caved in to pressure from the Trumpster, Senators Collins and Murkowski stood firm and represented their constituents.

Their votes demonstrate that when courageous women are present in positions of power, the conversation changes. But for the courage of Senators Collins and Murkowski, Sen. John McCain would not have had his historic opportunity to say “no.” In voting “no,” Sen. McCain also stood fast to represent the best interests of his constituents in Arizona. For the first time in my life last weekend, I was “proud” to be in Arizona.

Health Care Is A Civil Right

In 1966, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King declared that “Of all the inequalities that exist, the injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhuman.” Racial disparities in health care have persisted since 1966. A 2016 study by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation found that in 2014, 55% of all uninsured persons were people of color. Seventy-one percent ( 71%) of Whites were insured privately and only 21% had Medicaid or public insurance. By comparison, 51% of Blacks had private insurance, and 37% had Medicaid or public insurance. The Kaiser study concludes that “people of color have much to gain from health care reform.”

President Barack Hussein Obama was inspired to make health care his signature piece of legislation. Indeed, arguing for health care reform in 2009, President Obama cited the death of his own mother from cancer and the challenges she faced obtaining insurance because her cancer was deemed a pre-existing condition. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was a White woman.

So, we know that cancer makes no preference based on race, religion, age, national origin or political beliefs. “Some may call me a dreamer” but maybe one day, we can make the same statement for compassion: it makes no preference based on race, religion, age, national origin or political beliefs. I am inspired by Sen. Hirono’s compassion and courage in facing her cancer and using it to uplift a nation. And every time I watch the video of her speech, I think that from the darkness of the Republican night, there might just be a new dawn in America. Hopefully “I’m not the only one.”

On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot driving while Black outside of St. Paul, Minneapolis. Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot him five (5) times. Philando’s murder was witnessed by his girlfriend and his 4-year-old daughter in the back seat.

Credit: Stephen Govel Star Tribune

Fast forward to June 16, 2017. A Minneapolis jury acquits Officer Yanez of Philando’s murder. On July 15, 2017, barely a month later, Minneapolis police officer Mohammad Noor shoots Justine Damond, a White woman from Australia. Ms. Damond calls the police to report a possible rape occurring outside of her home. When the police arrive, she goes outside in her pajamas to talk to them. As she stands on the driver’s side of the police car talking to the driver, Officer Noor shoots across the front seat, past his partner through the open window. He shoots Ms. Damond in the stomach and she dies on the scene.

Not surprisingly, Ms. Damond’s murder has sparked international condemnation, particularly by the Australian Prime Minister. You see, we are among the most deadly countries in the world when it comes to gun violence. So, this type of crime in Australia is extremely shocking. The idea that the police “shoot first and ask questions later” seems incredible in most countries around the world.

Valerie Castile, Philando Castile’s Mother and Don Damond, Justine Damond’s fiancé, embraced at the Peace and Justice March for Justine on July 20, 2017

These two tragic deaths in the twin cities are interrelated. In both cases, the victim did not pose a threat of harm to the officers. Still, it is likely that the officer who shot Justine Damond will claim that he feared for his life, just like the officer who shot Philando Castile. And, it is also likely that Officer Noor will not be found guilty of any crime, just like Officer Yanez. It seems that even when police officers are charged, it is still really difficult for prosecutors to get a conviction.

How Did One Murder Lead to Another?

Dr. Martin Luther King said it best: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

And so it is that the murder of a Black man laid the foundation for the murder of a white woman. Indeed, the inability of the community to hold a police officer accountable for the death of a Black man created the permissive climate for another officer to murder a White woman. Suddenly, everyone in Minneapolis-St. Paul is “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” Now the truth is revealed. The use of deadly force by police officers in America against citizens is out of control. And when we allow police officers to target and terrorize communities based on race, religion or wealth, no one is safe.

It would not surprise me if Officer Noor thought that Justine Damond was Black. The Yanez acquittal verdict certainly told everyone in the Twin Cities (and indeed the nation) that Black lives do not matter. For Officer Noor to pull his gun, shoot across the front seat of the car and out of the window to kill an unarmed woman in her pajamas, speaks volumes about public safety in that city. It clearly confirms that public safety does not exist in that community.

Nor can it exist in any community where the rights of everyone are not respected and protected. This is a hard lesson that we all should learn from this tale of Twin Cities.

Oakland Dodges A Bullet

In 2003, OPD agreed to a Consent Decree known as the Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA). It was only supposed to last 5 years. In 2012, receivership was threatened because OPD failed to hold officers accountable for using excessive force against Occupy Oakland demonstrators. Instead, in December 2012, the Court appointed a Compliance Director to ensure successful compliance with the NSA.

This time, again, the lack of accountability goes to the highest levels. Now we know why former Chief Sean Whent really resigned. The Swanson-Barron Court report issued on June 21, 2017 exposes the cover-up from the initial investigators all the way to the Mayor’s office.

Who Made the Decisions?

According to the East Bay Express, Deputy Chief John Lois was the head of OPD’s Bureau of Investigations. In October 2015, he approved the closure of two criminal investigations of police misconduct within a week, despite obvious evidence of wrongdoing. He has just been promoted to Assistant Chief of Police, the second-highest position in the department.

Capt. Kirk Coleman was in charge of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in October 2015. Task 28 of the NSA requires the CID Commander to notify and coordinate promptly with the DA’s Office regarding possible officer criminal misconduct. OPD failed to notify the DA. Coleman is being promoted to run Internal Affairs, putting him in charge of all police-misconduct cases.

Lt. Roland Holmgren was the head of OPD’s homicide unit in October 2015. Two homicide investigators, Sgts. Bradley Baker and Jason Andersen, blamed Jasmine for O’Brien’s suicide in their interview, and watched her destroy evidence to protect other officers. Holmgren watched this interview. Holmgren then closed the homicide investigation within a week. He is being promoted to Captain and will be in charge of the CID.

Who Was Kept In The Dark?

When Kirkpatrick came to Oakland in January 2017, she had to rely on someone to tell her what was really going on inside OPD. Presumably that person was the Mayor who hired her. Perhaps the task was delegated to City Administrator Sabrina Landreth who oversaw OPD for 6 months. When Kirkpatrick proposed to promote these 3 men in May, you think someone would warn her that they were implicated in covering up sex trafficking by police officers. Instead, it appears that Kirkpatrick was kept in the dark. Worse case scenario, she was told and promoted them anyway.

According to the East Bay Express, Kirkpatrick defends and still intends to move forward with her promotions.

Not surprisingly, the first 2 recommendations in the Swanson-Barron report are designed to improve the reporting of potential officer criminal misconduct to the DA’s Office.

Who Will Hold OPD Accountable?

In September 2016, DA O’Malley was asked and said she did not intend to investigate anyone for obstruction of justice. This week, Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan called the question again. She is not alone. Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo also says that the everyone responsible for mishandling the Guap case, including the top leadership, should “face the music.”

The challenge to holding anyone accountable may be the statute of limitations. The statute for misdemeanor crimes is generally 1 year. Possible misdemeanors in this case include destroying or concealing evidence, preventing a witness from testifying or interfering with a police officer which is considered obstruction of justice. Conspiracy to obstruct justice can be charged as a felony. The statute of limitations for the felony charge is 3 years. The alleged cover-up began in October 2015. So, the DA is either out of time or time is running out.

The new Chief faces a similar problem. The time to complete an investigation of police misconduct is 1 year. So, the question is whether anything done so far constitutes an investigation of the top OPD brass. If so, when did it begin. The Chief is also either out of time or running out of time.

Judge Henderson left the matter in the City’s hands for now. The City has until September 25th to file a report in response to the Swanson-Barron report.

Credit: East Bay Express

If you agree that Chief Kirkpatrick should either postpone or rescind the promotions of Chief Lois, Capt. Coleman or Lt. Holmgren, you should call her at 510-238-8865, or hit her on twitter at @oaklandpoliceca. You can tell her for me if she really wants to “transform” OPD, she needs to start at the top. You can also tell Mayor Libby Schaaf at @theOaklandMayor.

My friends’ first question is not why am I running for DA. The first question is “have you lost your mind?” No, I have not lost my mind. I know who I am and I know why I’m running. So here it is.

No Police Accountability

Exhibit A – Court-Appointed-Investigators-Report-on-City-of Oakland’s Response to Allegations of Officer Sexual Misconduct. This scathing report exposes the total lack of accountability we have in Alameda County for police misconduct. It is particularly disturbing because OPD is under a consent decree that requires the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Commander to inform the DA of possible criminal conduct by officers. Yet, neither the City Attorney nor the District Attorney have taken any responsibility to enforce this provision of the Consent Decree. This persistent problem has cost our City millions of dollars.

Our DA says she had no knowledge of the investigation of police sexual exploitation going on right under her nose. The Court’s report verifies this claim. Nancy O’Malley had no idea that sex trafficking by the police was happening in Alameda County. It has been reported that two investigators in her office were part of the problem. She says she was completely unaware of the ongoing investigation until she read about it in the newspaper. To me, that is a gross dereliction of duty on her part.

When Officer Brendan O’Brien killed himself in September 2015 and left a note, he was still under suspicion of killing his wife. The question is why the DA did not ask “what’s in the suicide note?”

Courtesy: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

The Court report leaves no doubt that various members of OPD, certainly including former Chief Sean Whent, the Internal Affairs Division and CID Commanders engaged in obstruction of justice. When asked if she intended to investigate anyone for obstruction of justice, DA O’Malley said flatly “no.” Surely, this is why OPD felt completely comfortable covering up these crimes. There simply is no history of accountability for police officers in Alameda County.

“Is this because I was little?”

The Court finds that OPD did not properly investigate because of “an implicit but evident bias against the victim.” The report says “put simply, CID and IAD wrote off this victim.” Regrettably, I observed a similar bias in the DA’s response. While our County’s female leaders did not come right out and blame the victim, no one acted like they gave a damn about Jasmine. It was as if her exploitation was not taken seriously. Ultimately, the DA left Jasmine to languish in a Florida jail for 17 days.

Sept. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

When DA O’Malley famously announced “I would charge these officers but I don’t have a witness,” Jasmine was facing a felony and 15 years in prison. She was tricked into going to Florida in the first place by the Richmond Police Department.

The fact is the Richmond police sent DA O’Malley’s star witness across the country. Richmond PD placed Jasmine in a situation where she was held against her will, assaulted and arrested because she wanted to come home. If I were the DA, I would absolutely demand a thorough investigation of possible witness tampering. I would absolutely do everything in my power to hold whomever sent my witness to Florida accountable. More importantly, I would do everything in my power to bring her home. The same bias that OPD exhibited was obvious in the DA’s response to Jasmine’s incarceration in Florida – they wrote her off.

No Criminal Justice Reform

In 2014, Proposition 47 passed in Alameda County by almost 74% of the voters. We recognize that we cannot solve our problems by locking everyone up. DA O’Malley vigorously opposed Proposition 47. She called it “a frightening fraud with irrevocable and far-reaching consequences.” How can we expect her to implement legislation she considers “a frightening fraud?”

In 2012, California voters passed realignment legislation to reduce the numbers of people in prisons and bring them home. The measure, Proposition 36, passed in Alameda County with 78.6% of the vote. Yet, in 2016, DA O’Malley proposed to spend only $1.72 million of her $73 million budget on re-entry services.

In 2015, the DA’s office prosecuted almost 41,000 adults and 1001 juveniles. Ninety-three percent (93%) of the adult cases reviewed for charging resulted in some type of prosecution. So, if you get arrested in Alameda County, there is a 93% chance that you will be prosecuted for something. In contrast, Homeless Court meets six times a year and helps about 300 people a year.

The vast majority of the prosecutions (59% – almost 29,000 cases) were for misdemeanor crimes. The misdemeanor numbers include thousands of women arrested for prostitution. In 2015, the Safety Net Program – a program to create a safety plan for at-risk and high-risk victims of commercial sexual exploitation – only reviewed 83 cases.

In 2015, almost 1500 juvenile cases were presented to the DA. Of those 1,001 (67%) resulted in prosecutions. Felony arrests of African-American kids were a startling rate of 25 per 1,000 compared to 2.3 per 1,000 for White kids. Only 112 kids were referred to a restorative justice program. Only 80 kids participated in our Collaborative Mental Health Court. In 2014, Alameda was one of only 9 counties in the State where the DA only charged Black or Latino kids as adults. “The New Jim Crow” is alive and well in Alameda County.

Why We Have to Make A Change

We have got to change the picture of justice in Alameda County. The days when the DA can “talk the talk” and not “walk the walk” have to be over. As Adam Foss says, we need prosecutors who want to change lives, not ruin them. We need better public safety outcomes. Alameda County has the 4th highest homicide rate for young people (ages 10-24) in the State. Whatever she’s doing is not working.

Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions are about sending folks back to jail. Since 2012, we have rejected that approach in Alameda County. We want to bring people home and rebuild families and restore our community. We want to end the horrendous racial divide that has infected our judicial system. We want to treat and teach our kids how to be kids. That’s how we need to spend our money – by investing in our people. We need Justice Done Right in Alameda County.

Prosecutorial Accountability In Action

A cultural shift is happening across the country.

On Wednesday, June 14, Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson pled guilty to one felony and resigned. Many of us started calling for his resignation and prosecution in January. It only took six (6) months for it to become reality. Prosecutorial accountability in action!

Why Peterson Had to Go

In May, a civil grand jury recommended that Peterson be removed from office. The grand jury relied upon the fact that Peterson misappropriated tens of thousands of dollars in campaign money. But, Peterson has done more than steal $66,000 over the last five years. Peterson represented an old way of thinking about criminal justice that is not in line with the people who live in Contra Costa County.

Mark Peterson advocated against criminal justice reform at every turn. Voters in Contra Costa County voted overwhelmingly in favor of Prop. 36, Prop. 47 and Prop. 57. These bills all helped relieve the overburdened California prison system. In 2012, Peterson opposed Prop. 36, which reformed California’s draconian three-strikes law. He told the Mercury News that the 3 Strikes law “gives prosecutors a powerful bargaining position.” He also opposed Prop. 47 and Prop. 57.

Peterson is both ignorant and dismissive of the structural racial inequities in the criminal justice system. After the grand jury failed to indict Darren Wilson for murdering Michael Brown in Ferguson, Peterson wrote “All Lives Matter,” and argued that “crimes are perpetrated disproportionately by poor people of color.”

As the District Attorney, Peterson decided to charge Black children in Contra Costa County as adults 12 times more often than white kids. While African Americans make up 9.6 percent of the total county population, they represent 41 percent of the juvenile probation population. Peterson regularly overcharged and prosecuted Black, Latino and poor women for petty theft crimes while excusing his own felonious conduct.

The Flip Side of Unequal Justice

While Peterson has showed a disdain for the people he represents and serves, he has shown favoritism to bad actors in law enforcement. He conducted the most perfunctory investigation of the Richmond police officers who were allegedly complicit in a massive sex trafficking ring. He initially refused to prosecute any of them.

Peterson turned a blind eye to the community’s concerns about sexual exploitation and obstruction of justice. The Richmond Police Department initially denied and later admitted that it arranged to transport the 19-year-old survivor-victim witness to Florida. Once there, she was promptly arrested, charged with a felony and incarcerated facing a possible 15-year sentence under extremely dubious circumstances. Peterson’s office made no effort to assist me in securing her release from jail or returning her to California.

Peterson’s 2014 investigation of the murder of Richard “Pedie” Perez, an unarmed man shot by Richmond Police Officer Wally Jensen, was so flawed that the family and much of the community remains outraged that a murderer may have gotten away. There is compelling evidence that Officer Jensen initiated a physical confrontation by repeatedly tackling Pedie. Pedie was unarmed and intoxicated. After tackling Pedie, Jensen backed up, pulled his gun and shot Pedie three times, killing him.

Peterson also refused to investigate whether the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) was defrauded in connection with a $1.6 billion school construction bond program. There is compelling evidence that the WCCUSD provided contractor SGI with rent-free office space, a 10 percent markup on general contracting reimbursements and reimbursement for office furnishings, supplies and cellular service. An investigation also found that SGI received substantial increases in pay, averaging 69 percent, when 10 or 20 percent would have been reasonable.

How The Community Brought Him Down

Peterson’s downfall was the culmination of months of organizing and a community that “woke up.” Citizens, everyday people became aware of his actions and rejected his reasoning. First it was activists holding a public trial in front of his office in January. Peterson was “found guilty” on a 7-count indictment. To his credit, County Supervisor John Gioia stood up to represent the interests of his community and called for Peterson’s resignation.

Peterson’s resignation is a victory for the people of Contra Costa County. The community found its voice and used its voice to reject lawlessness by its chief law enforcement officer. Peterson’s prosecution proves that law enforcement officials can be held accountable under the law. All it takes is a will to look, speak up and act out! #Stay Tuned & StayWoke.

In December 2016, as I prepared to take my seat as an elected member of the Alameda County Central Committee, I expressed my intention to serve based on the inspiring messages from “the Politics of Trust.” Fast forward to June 2017. The California Democratic Party is experiencing a “Politics of Trust” moment as the battle for Chair of the Party continues.

The Audit & the Challenges

Joey Smith, Kimberly Ellis, Pamela Price (2016 CDP Convention)

On May 22, 2017, a small crew of folks gathered in the office of the California Democratic Party. We were there to start an “audit” of the ballots cast in the CDP elections. I served that first day as a legal observer on behalf of the Kimberly Ellis campaign. Others also stepped up that day and later in the week to support Kimberly’s effort to ensure fairness and transparency in our election.

Everyone should support that effort. Fair (open and free) elections are supposed to be the hallmark of a democratic society. Without getting into specifics, the questions for our CDP elections is both how the votes were cast and who actually voted. These questions have also prompted challenges in two other Officer positions and a majority of the Regional Director positions.

The CDP bylaws provide for a challenge based on a violation of the CDP bylaws. The CDP’s Compliance Review Commission has six (6) members. This Commission has the power and authority to take such actions as are necessary to provide a fair and just remedy including, but not limited to, the holding of new elections.

The Ellis challenge is firmly grounded in a tradition of democratic demands for election fairness. I learned “election protection” firsthand in 2008 when along with thousands of lawyers, I volunteered to observe the presidential election. Because Barack Obama’s candidacy was so earth-shaking, many people feared the election would be stolen away. Lawyers from everywhere traveled thousands of miles to cover the entire country. We were there to ensure fairness and transparency.

Fairness & Transparency in Elections

Long before Barack Obama, however, “outsiders” learned that having eyes on the process makes it harder to hide election fraud. His adopted hometown, Chicago, is the perfect tale of election fraud and election reform. The famous Chicago political machine engaged in every form of trickery from 1928 until the 1980s. In 1983, Mayor Harold Washington created the city’s first Freedom of Information law, allowing journalists and others to obtain and analyze election records.

As one writer points out, our electoral system is widely viewed as an anomaly in the western world today because of persistent problems, such as reliability of voting machines; frequent bureaucratic incompetence; the lack of uniform standards from state to state, or even county to county; the systematic exclusion of millions of formerly incarcerated citizens; and the tendency of election officials to adopt rules that benefit their party over democracy itself.

These problems are rooted in a political system designed to guarantee rich White male supremacy. Women, Black people and poor White men were intentionally excluded from the right to vote from the beginning. As a result, our history has been about some of us fighting to overcome ingrained privilege while others fight to preserve it. Furthermore, it seems as long as we struggle to infuse the political system with integrity, it gives free reign to people who plan to cheat and unfairly influence the process. I suspect that California State Senator John Vasconcellos was right that we have to change the basic calculus of politics.

The Politics of Trust

This is a large moment in history for the California Democratic Party. The headquarters in Sacramento is dedicated to working people in California. The walls are decorated with commemorations to the lives and legacy of Congressman Phil Burton and his wife, Sala Galante Burton. Notably, Sala’s perspective seems especially relevant in this moment. According to Sala, “politics is everybody’s business. The air you breathe is political—it isn’t just a game for certain people. We must all be vigilant in terms of whom we elect to office, vigilant in terms of our civil rights and liberties.”

Credit: LA Times

I’m sure Sala Burton is smiling down on Kimberly Ellis and thanking her and her supporters for their vigilant demand for fairness and transparency in this election. After all, the CDP is the largest state democratic party in the country.

If the Compliance Review Commission does not pull out all the stops to benefit democracy over intra-party loyalty, it will be exposed for all to see. All eyes are watching. Hopefully, these Commission members appreciate their singular role in resolving not only the challenges, but also restoring trust in the process. I hope they are people of courage and integrity. “The Politics of Trust is demanding more and better from each and all of us.”* #StayWoke!

The Question – What the H**l Happened Down There?

Me at the CDP General Session on Sunday!

What the hell was going on down there? That was actually the question. “Down there” is Sacramento, California, and yes, it was wild!

The upheaval within the Democratic Party came home to California this past weekend. The deep discontent that I saw simmering just below the surface at the CDP Convention last summer in San Jose blew up the house in Sacramento.

And it seems the party leadership never saw it coming. So when it happened, they had no idea how to deal with it.

This weekend, Eric Bauman became the Chair of the California Democratic Party. His mission, “should he decide to accept it,” is to repair the breach of trust and unify the base. It is his mission, his job, his responsibility. It’s why he now will get paid “the big bucks.”

So, why all the fuss? What the hell happened down there?

My Report on the Convention

So what happened (from my view) is that the delegates had a clear choice between (a) someone relatively new to the party and (b) someone who had waited years for “his turn.” A choice between (a) an outsider with a track record of recruiting and training women to successfully run for office and (b) the ultimate insider who presides over a party chapter with a history of exceptionally low voter turnout.

Kimberly Ellis

It was a clear choice between (a) someone who managed to unify Berniecrats and Hillary supporters, and (b) someone who will have a very difficult time gaining the trust and support of new people who came alive in the party because of Bernie Sanders.

An obvious choice between (a) an energetic smiling young Black woman and (b) a somewhat “entitled” middle-aged gay man. Their positions remind me a lot of the contest Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008.

I know some people want to make Kimberly “an angry Black woman.” And some perceive Eric as “your mean older brother.” Their personalities was not the deal-breaker for me, anymore than their age, race or sexual identity. Make no mistake. I supported Kimberly Ellis for Chair. What mattered most to me were two things: (a) who had the best vision for the future of the Democratic Party; and (b) who had conflicts of interest that might impact his ability to advocate for the needs of everyday people. Kimberly’s message about redefining what it means to be a Democrat was inspiring, particularly in light of the party’s failures for at least the past two decades.

Fortunately, the contest was not simply a case of “identity politics.” It is well known that many Black politicians do not support Kimberly. Most notably the Chair of the CDP African-American Caucus. I know gay men who did not support Eric. Still, it troubles me that Black women have the highest voter turn-out as Democrats (meaning we are the backbone of the Democratic Party), yet, we do not have a single Black woman in charge of a statewide Democratic Party. Not here, not there, not now, not ever. This is a big problem for the Democratic Party.

Who Turned Off the Mike on Auntie Maxine?

Then there was the insulting treatment of senior political matriarch, Congresswoman Maxine Waters. On Saturday night, as Kimberly’s candidacy was going down in flames, a young white man decided to interrupt Maxine Waters’ speech. In full view of the African-American Caucus. He was completely un-intimidated. He stepped up to the Congresswoman and told her to stop talking. She just happened to be giving her bad report on No. 45. And talking bad about No. 45 “for real.” It seems that the young man could not take it. So he just walked up and interrupted her. When she would not stop talking, he turned off her mike.

What really scares me is that if he wanted to harm her, he could have. Maxine Waters is an America icon. She is currently serving her 13th term in Congress. She was elected in 1990. Congresswoman Waters has served on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) since 1980. She was a key leader in five presidential campaigns: Sen. Edward Kennedy (1980), Rev. Jesse Jackson (1984 & 1988), and President Bill Clinton (1992 & 1996). Before she went to Congress, she spent 14 years in the California State Assembly.

In the California Assembly, “Auntie Maxine” as she is fondly called, served as the Democratic Caucus Chair and is credited with pushing some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen. She lead the fight for divestment of state pension funds from South Africa. She authored landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law.

Outrage and Accountability

The way that this man boldly stepped up and interrupted Auntie Maxine was absolutely shocking. I seriously doubt that he would have stepped to Congressman Paul Ryan or Congressman Kevin McCarthy in such a way. Certainly, he would not have turned off the mike while either one of those Congressmen was still speaking. The entire African-American Caucus is outraged by such blatant disrespect. Even those of us who were not there. The video is quite alarming!

So, one of Eric Bauman’s first tests on accountability to the party is how he responds to the complaint lodged by the African-American Caucus. Mr. Bauman not only has to address the outrage of Kimberly’s supporters (who booed him from the floor on Sunday and then walked out), but also the outrage of those who have love and respect for Auntie Maxine.

Mr. Bauman needs to get busy right away! Otherwise, he may never gain the credibility he needs to lead us in the fight against Trump!

A Department of Violence Prevention in Oakland

On Tuesday, May 16, 2017, starting at 5:30 p.m. the Oakland City Council will decide a question of urgent priority. The question is whether to establish a Department of Violence Prevention (DVP).

Or whether to accept Mayor Libby Schaaf‘s goal to reduce violent crime by a mere 10% using the same old failed methods. A coalition of community groups along with Councilmembers Lynette McElhaney, Larry Reid and Rebecca Kaplan are calling for people to show up at the Oakland City Council meeting. If you cannot make the meeting, you should contact Councilmembers Dan Kalb, Abel Guillen, Annie Campbell, Noel Gallo and Desley Brooks.

Why This, Why Now?

It’s 1999. I’m standing in front of City Hall with my two young grandsons. Both of them are still in elementary school. We are part of the Acts Full Gospel Church‘s weekly rallies against gun violence in Oakland. The faith community wants the killings in Oakland to stop. We want City Hall to take action to stop the violence in Oakland.

In 2001-2002, there is a rash of killings of young Black men in a part of Oakland known as “Ghost Town.” I sue the City on behalf of the family of 21-year-old Chance Grundy. A man murdered Chance because Chance witnessed a murder and cooperated with the police. The police let it be known that Chance was a cooperating witness. The murderer let it be known that he wanted Chance to “sleep with the fishes.” We lose the case. It turns out that (in real life, not like in the movies) the police have no duty to protect witnesses even when they know the witness is in danger.

Fast forward to January 11, 2013. My friend Brenda Harbin‘s beloved grandson, Ken Harbin, Jr. is shot and killed. Four people are killed that day in Oakland. In the wake of Ken’s murder, we stand on street corners with Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere (S.A.V.E.). Once again, we ask the City to take action to stop the violence in Oakland.

Every grandmother and mother’s nightmare, the loss of a beloved child. A dream struck down and unfulfilled by a senseless act of violence.

America’s Gun Violence Problem

America’s “gun culture” is totally unique. We own way more guns privately than other countries, and we have the highest gun ownership per capita rate in the world. Gun violence has long been deemed a public health crisis. A March 2016 study in the American Journal of Medicine found that 90% of all women, 91% of children under 14 , 92% of youth aged 15 to 24 years, and 82% of all people killed by firearms in the world were from the United States.

In 2010, the number of homicides by guns in the U.S. was at least 9,960. The Centers for Disease Control reported 11,078 firearm-related homicides that year. By comparison, there were only 173 gun homicides in Canada, 155 in the United Kingdom, 158 in Germany and 142 in France. Sweden had only 30 homicides by gun. Japan had only 11 people killed with guns.

Credit: Ma’ayan Rosenzweig/ABC News

Currently, the U.S. is ranked 4th out of 34 developed nations for the incidence of homicides committed with a firearm. A young man here aged 15–24 is 70 times more likely to be killed with a gun than his counterpart in the eight largest industrialized nations in the world. These include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy and Russia.

In 2015, there were 372 mass shootings and 33,636 deaths due to firearms in the U.S. That same year, guns were used to kill only about 50 people in the U.K. More people are killed with guns in the U.S. in a day (about 85) than in the U.K. in a year.

The Race-Based Rationale for Guns

Efforts to control guns in America have stumbled on the “right to bear arms” clause in the Second Amendment to the Constitution. What is often overlooked is the history of the Second Amendment. It was added as a compromise to protect the slave patrols in the South. The Founders knew the militias were necessary to keep the slaves under control. The Supreme Court has interpreted and protected the Second Amendment regardless of the consequences.

In 2002, Michael Moore wrote, produced, directed and narrated Bowling for Columbine. The film highlighted the racist underpinnings of the Second Amendment. However, the Film’s main point, that our violent crime rate is substantially higher than other nations, seems to have been lost over time.

Support the Department of Violence Prevention

Gun violence in Oakland has remained steady. In 1999, the County Board of Supervisors passed a strong gun control law. The Board reacted to a “rash of gun-related violence” in Alameda County. The Board found that “gunshot fatalities are of epidemic proportions in Alameda County.” That law was immediately attacked based on Supreme Court decisions. While the case was pending, the County retreated and announced that gun shows would be allowed on County property.

Our Mayor opposes the proposal to create a Department of Violence Prevention (DVP). We need to support the goal to reduce homicides by 80% and achieve an 80% clearance rate within 3 years. The Mayor wants to increase funding for law enforcement, but “budgets are statements of priorities.” Our priority has to be to reduce gun violence, domestic violence and commercial sexual exploitation of our children.

I’m sitting and waiting for the healthcare vote. I’ve watched nervously over the last few days as the forces of Trump gathered in secret. It is clear they intend to deliver a savage blow to healthcare in America. As a result, it is clear that now, more than ever, we need single payer healthcare in California.

SB562 is a Senate bill in the California State Legislature that proposes to provide free healthcare for all Californians. Single-payer health care is a system in which the government, rather than private insurers, pays for all healthcare costs. Healthy California is a campaign of over 4 million Californians committed to guaranteeing healthcare for the residents of our state.

In a 2003 study, Americans spent 7.2% of our Gross Domestic Product (GPD) on health care. By comparison, it found that citizens in Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Canada and Australia spent less than 2.6. Their healthcare costs were covered by their governments. A 2010 study found that Americans continue to spend way more on our healthcare than other similarly-situated countries.

Source: Wikipedia/Sugar Baby Love

Our failure to provide universal healthcare in America also hurts our financial status in the world. A comparison of our credit rating to other countries with universal healthcare makes it clear we need single payor healthcare.

Source: Huffington Post

SB562 is a Senate bill in the California State Legislature that proposes to provide healthcare for all Californians. On April 26, 2017, the California Legislature movedSB562 forward. It would provide full healthcare coverage for all Californians. The advances from Obamacare would be folded into the new system. It will eliminate “co-pays” “out-of-pocket costs” and “deductibles.” These are the private expenses that are driving all of us to the poorhouse. SB562 will lower prescription costs which really hurt people when they are sick and need help the most.

Reproductive Injustice

According to the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, the infant mortality rate is one of the most widely used measures for the overall health of a community. Leading causes of death among infants are birth defects, preterm delivery, low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and maternal complications during pregnancy. Infant mortality continues to be a major problem in the U.S. although the rate is dropping.

In Alameda County, 619 babies died prematurely between 2006-2012, compared to 56 in Marin. Alameda County’s infant mortality rate is consistently higher for Black and multiracial women than women in other ethnic groups. It is 3 times higher for Black families as white families in Alameda County, and almost that high in Contra Costa County.

West Contra Costa County became a medical desert in 2014 with the closure of Doctor’s Medical Center. Residents of 8 cities, Hercules, Pinole, San Pablo, El Sobrante, El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, Kensington and the surrounding incorporated areas have to travel to Berkeley or Oakland for emergency medical care. The current crisis in West County is the result of decades of racial injustice in healthcare and other social services in Contra Costa County.

Studies also show an increase in pregnancy mortality rates in recent years. Again, Black women are dying at significantly higher rates:

The Urgency of Now!

These statistics make it clear that NOW is the time for universal healthcare. That the fight for single-payer healthcare is a social, racial, gender and economic justice issue. Having free access to quality healthcare is one of the pressing human rights fights of our time. Indeed, lives are at stake and every day counts! I urge everyone to join and support the Campaign for a Healthy California!#HealthyCA

My mouth fell open when I read this! Shocking! In Alameda County? It surprised me and not much about our judicial system surprises me.

The Prosecutor’s Power to Charge Children

In 2016, California voters passed Proposition 57. It passed in Alameda County by an overwhelming 77% majority. One of the main changes in the new law is to eliminate the prosecutor’s discretion to charge children between 14 and 18 as adults. It repealed California Proposition 21, which was passed in March 2000. Proposition 21 gave prosecutors the authority to decide whether to try a child as an adult.

In a “direct file” case, the prosecutor had the sole authority to decide whether to charge a child as an adult. Under the old law, the decision had to be made within the first 48 hours of an arrest. As a result, prosecutors often had minimal information about the circumstances of the crime or the child. In addition, there was almost no opportunity to interview key witnesses before making the decision.

At the same time, placing a child in the adult prosecution track has dire consequences for his or her “rehabilitation.” First of all, children are five times more likely to be sexually assaulted in adult prisons than in juvenile facilities. Furthermore, children are up to 36 times more likely to commit suicide after being housed in an adult jail or prison than those in juvenile facilities.

These youth law advocates conducted a comprehensive survey and comparison of California counties. They found that the type of justice you receive in the juvenile system depends on where you live – hence, justice by geography! Furthermore, since 2003, there has been a growing disparity gap in the rates of direct file prosecutions of children by race in California.

Statewide numbers reveal that in 2014, for every White child charged as an adult, there were 3 Latino and 11 Black kids. What is shocking to me is that in Alameda County, prosecutors did not charge a single White kid as an adult in 2014. Yet, in the same year, Alameda County prosecutors charged 14 Black or Latino kids as adults. Alameda is one of the nine counties in the State where only Black or Latino youths were subject to direct filing.

The Road to Recovery

Our road to recovery from juvenile injustice in California is likely to be long and difficult. With the passage of Prop. 57, the decision to prosecute a child as an adult is now decided by judges. Those of us who question the wisdom of this approach wonder whether we are going backward instead of forward. We know that in real world, judges have usually supported prosecutors. Indeed in Alameda County, most of the sitting judges were prosecutors. So, some of us are concerned that “the fox is already in the henhouse.”

The response to our concerns was that the judge must make his decision in public and give a statement of reasons for the decision. Now, the prosecutor must make a motion to transfer a child to adult court. The judge must hold a hearing and evaluate whether the child should be tried as an adult. The hope is that increased transparency will lead to more accountability and better outcomes for kids.

In the meantime, it is unclear whether any of the kids charged, convicted or sentenced under the old law are entitled to relief. In fact, once they were charged as adults, they were subject to the same pressures to plead guilty as adults. According to the AG’s records, 88% of the kids charged as adults are convicted and sentenced as adults.

Can We Save Children We Already Condemned?

Kurese Bell in San Diego County is a case in point. Kurese was only 17 when he and a friend, 18-year-old Marlon Thomas, robbed two marijuana dispensaries. At the second one, they unintentionally got into a shootout with a security guard inside the building. Eighteen year old Marlon was killed. Because Marlon’s death occurred during a robbery, 17-year old Kurese was charged with murder as an adult. Kurese was convicted in January 2017, after Prop. 57 became effective. If he is sentenced as an adult, he is not likely to have a parole date for 25 years.

Kurese’s case was a “direct file.” Ironically, the District Attorney of San Diego is the only DA in the State who supported Prop. 57. San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is a former Juvenile Court Judge. She says that she believes that a judge should hear both sides as to why a juvenile should be treated as an adult.

Earlier this year, Kurese’s lawyer, Patrick Dudley, took the courageous step of asking the Court to apply Prop. 57 retroactively to Kurese’s case. The motion was granted! The judge applied Prop. 57 and granted Kurese a transfer/fitness hearing in which the presumption is that Kurese is “fit” for a juvenile court disposition. The prosecution must prove that he is not. A hearing is scheduled for May 12th.

Whether we will see similar steps to achieve justice in Alameda County by applying Prop. 57 retroactively remains to be seen. Certainly, given our history of racial disparity in charging children, justice would appear to demand it.